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1st Brigade (New Zealand)
The 1st Brigade is the largest unit of the New Zealand Army, and contains most of the army's deployable units. The brigade was formed on 13 December 2011 by amalgamating the 2nd Land Force Group and 3rd Land Force Group. Its establishment formed part of the 'Army 2015' package of reforms. Previous 1st Brigades in the New Zealand Army since 1939 have included a home defence formation active during the Second World War (part of the North Island home defence 1st Division (New Zealand)), and a 1 Brigade / Integrated Expansion Force formed to direct three Territorial Force-formed battalions in the 1970s and 1980s. On 1 November 1941 the 1st Brigade became part of the newly formed Northern Division in the Northern Military District. The division's two brigades were the 1st and 12th Brigade Groups.Cooke (2011), pp. 262, 274 Later the Northern Division became the 1st Division. The 1st Brigade Group had been formed prior to World War II, and the 12th Brigade Group was one of the new headquarters; both these units were part of the Territorial Force and were manned by part-time reservists.Cooke (2011), p. 262 During early 1942, camps were constructed for the 1st Brigade Group in South Auckland and the 12th Brigade Group at Kaikohe. The 1st Brigade subsequently moved to a camp near Warkworth. In 2011 the 1st Brigade was reformed from the headquarters of the 2nd Land Force Group at Linton Camp. Current structure As of December 2011, the brigade comprised: *Headquarters, 1st Brigade (Linton Military Camp) *1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Linton Military Camp) *2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Burnham Military Camp) *Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (Burnham Military Camp) *16th Field Regiment, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery (Linton Military Camp) *2nd Engineer Regiment (Linton Military Camp) *1st Signals Regiment (Linton Military Camp) *2nd Combat Service Support Battalion (Linton Military Camp) *3rd Combat Service Support Battalion (Burnham Military Camp) *2nd Health Services Battalion (Linton Military Camp) *1st Military Police Company (Trentham Military Camp) Order of Battle Correct as at 1 August 2012: *1st (New Zealand) Brigade **Headquarters, 1st Brigade (Linton Military Camp) **1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Linton Military Camp) ***Alpha Company ***Victor Company ***Whiskey Company ***Support Company ***Combat Service Support Company **2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (Burnham Military Camp) ***Alpha Company ***Bravo Company ***Delta Company ***Support Company ***Depot Company ***Combat Service Support Company **Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (Linton Military Camp) ***Wellington East Coast Squadron ***NZ Scots Squadron ***Waikato Mounted Rifles Squadron ***Support Squadron **16th Field Regiment, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery (Linton Military Camp) }} ***161 Battery ***163 Battery ***11/4 Battery (Papakura Military Camp) **2nd Engineer Regiment (Linton Military Camp) ***1st Field Squadron ***2nd Field Squadron ***3rd Field Squadron (Burnham Military Camp) ***25 Engineer Support Squadron ***Emergency Response Squadron **1st New Zealand Signal Regiment (Linton Military Camp) ***1st (New Zealand) Military Intelligence Company (Trentham Military Camp) ***2nd Signal Squadron ***3rd Signal Squadron (Electronic Warfare) (Burnham Military Camp) ***4th Signal Squadron (Burnham Military Camp) ***25 Cypher Section **2nd Combat Service Support Battalion (Linton Military Camp) ***10th Transport Company ***21st Supply Company ***2nd Workshop Company ***5th Movements Company ***Combat Service Support Company (North) (Papakura Military Camp) **3rd Combat Service Support Battalion (Burnham Military Camp) ***3rd Transport Company ***3rd Catering & Supply Company ***3rd Workshop Company **2nd Health Services Battalion (New Zealand) (Linton Military Camp) ***1st Health Support Company (Papakura Military Camp) ***2nd Health Support Company ***3rd Health Support Company (Burnham Military Camp) ***4th Health Support Company (Waiouru Military Camp) ***General Support Health Company ***Logistics Support Company **1st (New Zealand) Military Police Company (Trentham Military Camp) **Linton Regional Support Centre (Linton Military Camp) See also *Structure of the New Zealand Army References Notes Further reading *Cooke, P., Defending New Zealand: ramparts on the sea, 1840-1950s, 2. Vols. (Wellington: Defence of New Zealand Study Group, c2000) *Damien Marc Fenton, 'A False Sense of Security,' Centre for Strategic Studies New Zealand, 1998 Category:Brigades of New Zealand Category:Military units and formations established in 1939 Category:1939 establishments in New Zealand